-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- It feels like a rerun of the Orange Revolution . Similar to late 2004 when hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets to protest what they saw as a fraudulent presidential election , mass demonstrations have been taking place ever since the government in Kiev suspended an association and trade agreement with the European Union some days ago .

No less than back then , observers inside and outside the country are stunned by the civic force unleashed . Across the country , Ukrainians have been gathering for Euro Maydans , coined after the Kiev square that is the epicenter of protests now as it was then . Social networks , independent media and street talk are again abuzz with minute-by-minute news , appeals for nonviolence , help offered to protesters and humor ridiculing the powers that be .

Ukraine protests grow as president responds

Ukrainians also pin their anger -- and their hopes -- on largely the same protagonists as nearly a decade ago . There is the government of President Victor Yanukovich , whose rigged election in 2004 and rejection of the EU accord now , both times with backing from Russia , blatantly ignored the will of many Ukrainians .

These , in turn , rally behind an opposition led by a motley crew composed of boxing champion Vitali Klitschko , nationalists and , from her prison cell , the erstwhile Orange icon Yulia Tymoshenko . And as back then , the government has started to peddle back , and indications now are that the protesters may succeed with their demands .

Yet not all is dÃ © jÃ vu , and the stakes now seem even higher than during the Orange Revolution . Many in Ukraine feel today that they have reached a final junction . They do not want to miss what may be the last opportunity in many years to come for a principal , some even say civilizational , choice between Europe and Russia , democracy and dictatorship , sovereignty and subordination , prosperity and poverty , modernity and mayhem . Indeed , the contrast between what Ukraine can expect from her Western and Eastern neighbors could not be starker .

Opinion : Beware Russia 's power play

The EU has , over several years , negotiated the most comprehensive association and deep free trade agreements ever , and it is ready to sign these with Ukraine . They require the country to adopt hundreds of EU laws , regulations and standards , and necessitate much-needed reforms of Ukraine 's often dysfunctional political , legal and state institutions . In return , the EU would abolish visas for Ukrainian citizens and open its common market of 500 million consumers to Ukrainian companies , resulting in a considerable boost to the country 's GDP and prosperity .

While promising to affiliate Ukraine closely with the EU , to reinforce its independence and to benefit its democracy , rule of law and market economy in the long-run , the agreements fall short of a full membership perspective for the country , and they contain very limited assistance to accomplish the painful process of reforms required . Most importantly , however , the EU has been reluctant to include with its offer short-term support to Ukraine 's battered economy and finances .

Russia , on the other hand , has used the dire need of Ukraine for immediate cash injections to promote its own integrationist project , the Eurasian Union . This is Vladimir Putin 's attempt to bring back former Soviet republics under the Kremlin 's hegemony and to restore its erstwhile status as a world power , and it is to be fully functional by 2015 .

This anti-EU , which currently comprises only Belarus , Kazakhstan and Russia , does not demand political , economic and social modernization but is content with the same autocratic and oligarchic status quo that Russia herself preserves . In return , current and would-be members are lured with Russian political backing , financial subsidies and security guarantees , while countries opting against are threatened with debilitating sanctions . In either case , Russia effectively undermines the independence and statehood of its smaller neighbors .

Ukraine , the largest , most strategic and highly symbolic among Russia 's neighbors , has experienced this arsenal of Russian sticks and carrots for years -- and the more massively , the closer it moved to signing its EU association and trade agreements . Faced with this choice , the Ukrainian government and society have clearly grown apart .

The former gave in to Russian pressures , mainly drawn by the short-term prospect of financial aid offered by Moscow and only concerned with preserving its political power . The latter has increasingly understood that a free , democratic and prosperous Ukraine is possible only in ever closer , and one day full , integration with the EU . It is this understanding that manifests itself in the demonstrations across the country .

It is now on the EU to seize the moment . It must be no less proactive than it was during the Orange Revolution and engage the Ukrainian government and the protesters in a national dialogue for a way out of the current impasse .

It must clearly state that Ukraine has a perspective of EU membership as per its own founding documents , and it must ready the same support -- political , financial and institutional -- that it has provided to other new democracies on their way to the EU . It must mobilize , directly and through the IMF , the resources for Ukraine to weather its imminent financial collapse , and it must shield the country from likely Russian retaliation , whether economic sanctions , political meddling or worse .

Hundreds of thousands of courageous Ukrainians have handed their country , and Europe , a second chance . It may be the last , and it must not be wasted .

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Joerg Forbrig .

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On November 21 , Ukraine 's government decided to suspend talks with the European Union

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The decision has sparked the biggest protests since the 2004 Orange Revolution

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Joerg Forbrig says President Victor Yanukovich has ignored the will of the majority

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It is now up to the EU to engage Kiev and protesters in a national dialogue , he says